How to start a website

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How to start a website

So you’re all set with a great idea for your new business, the one that will allow you to work from home, and you are ready to start a website. How on earth do you do that?!

Well, it’s actually super simple, even if you are a complete beginner. Here’s a step-by-step guide to the process of starting and setting up a website.

WordPress Self-Hosted

My top recommendation is to opt for a self-hosted WordPress site. I’ve been running blogs and websites for over five years. I started out on WordPress.com, which is a blogging platform hosted by WordPress. But within a year I switched to go self-hosted using WordPress blogging software. Why? Because you have so much more freedom to create the website you want, have it look the way you want and run it the way you want when you are self-hosted.

Why WordPress?

WordPress is by far the most popular blogging software. A massive 28% of the web uses WordPress, from hobby bloggers to some of the biggest sites online. WordPress sites are easily customisable and the backend – the bit where you write posts and make stuff happen – is so easy to navigate.

What is hosting?

Of course self-hosted sites need hosting! Your website host is where your site ‘lives’, the place that stores and delivers the files for your site. You need a hosting company that will load your website’s pages quickly – site speed is so important – has excellent customer service and will keep regular backups of your site. Plus of course you want all that for the best value possible.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to choose a good, reliable hosting company. The speed and security of your website are everything to you. I have tried out several hosting companies over the years and there are two that I happily recommend time and again. Both are top notch at keeping websites running lightening fast and securely, both have servers configured to WordPress and both have awesome customer support. But the one I’m going to recommend for you if you’re just starting out is SiteGround.

SiteGround WordPress Hosting

SiteGround – this is my current WordPress hosting company for MumsMakeLists. I believe it is one of the best hosting companies there is – and I’ve done a tonne of research into hosting. SiteGround offers super affordable hosting packages and they will migrate your existing WordPress site for free.

Plus SiteGround customer support is fantastic – something that is invaluable for those of us who aren’t tech geniuses. I make use of its Customer Support online chat whenever I need help or advice. I can testify that to date its customer service team has gone above and beyond helping me with my site.

Another huge benefit is that SiteGround doesn’t overcrowd its servers, so there’s less chance of your site going down. SiteGround has WordPress hosting solutions for those starting out right up to sites with seriously high traffic levels. Use this link to purchase your SiteGround hosting and get a great deal.

Buy Your Domain Name

For those starting a new website you can choose your domain name as part of setting up your SiteGround hosting package and you also get free email accounts linked to your domain. If your first choice of domain name isn’t available it will make suggestions for one that is. My top tip is to always go with a .com domain.

WPEngine Hosting

Now I mentioned that there are two hosting companies that I rave about.WPEngine is the WordPress hosting company I used as part of the founding team of startup mama.codes. It is known in the industry as the creme-de-la-creme of WordPress hosting companies. It ONLY hosts WordPress sites, so it is the font of all WordPress knowledge. Use it if you want the very best full-service hosting and you have the budget to go all out with hosting. Use this link to find out more about WPEngine.

Do drop me a line at luci @ mumsmakelists.com if you have any questions, I am always happy to help and share the stuff I’ve learned about setting up and running websites over the last few years.